{"id":79536,"date":"2026-10-15T08:25:50","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T08:25:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/cz-takes-aim-at-bank-of-america-over-1-21-billion-aml-penalty\/"},"modified":"2026-10-15T08:25:50","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T08:25:50","slug":"cz-takes-aim-at-bank-of-america-over-1-21-billion-aml-penalty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/cz-takes-aim-at-bank-of-america-over-1-21-billion-aml-penalty\/","title":{"rendered":"CZ Takes Aim at Bank of America Over $1.21 Billion AML Penalty"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News )<\/b><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"@container mb-[25px] rounded-sm overflow-clip py-0.5 pr-0.5 pl-2.5 bg-success-100\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col gap-m overflow-clip rounded-[6px] !bg-success-10 p-3 @[420px]:p-m\">\n<h2 class=\"m-0 flex items-center gap-s text-[19px] !text-[#1c1c1c] md:text-[20px]\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"16\" height=\"10\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 10\" fill=\"none\" class=\"shrink-0 text-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M1 1.5h14\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><path d=\"M1 8.5h10\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span>Key Takeaways<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"m-0 flex list-none flex-col gap-m pl-0\">\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">CZ roasted the absence of criminal charges following Bank of America\u2019s $1.21 billion penalty.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">The Treasury found Bank of America failed to timely report more than $5 billion in suspicious transactions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Bank of America must review missed transactions and strengthen its compliance controls.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>CZ Takes Swipe at Bank of America After $1.21 Billion Fine and No Jail Time<\/h2>\n<p>Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) had a few choice words on Wednesday after Bank of America got walloped with more than $1.21 billion in federal penalties for anti-money laundering and sanctions violations. The banking behemoth <a href=\"https:\/\/home.treasury.gov\/news\/press-releases\/sb0657\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">admitted to willfully violating<\/a> the Bank Secrecy Act, while regulators disclosed that more than $5 billion in suspicious transactions had gone unreported or were reported late.<\/p>\n<p>Yet amid the billion-dollar reckoning, no bank executives faced criminal charges. Zhao seized on that detail in <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/cz_binance\/status\/2110309077175963947?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a pointed post on X<\/a>, offering his own assessment of how the affair played out. Responding to an Oct. 14 X post detailing the enforcement action, Zhao didn\u2019t mince words about the consequences facing the bank\u2019s leadership. He stated:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cNo one went to prison. No home confinement. No DPAs. No one was even charged. Water under the bridge. Onwards!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>His remarks followed Tuesday\u2019s announcement that the U.S. Treasury Department had handed down the third-largest penalty in its history against America\u2019s second-largest bank. The comparison carries some personal history. Zhao previously <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/binance-founder-reflects-on-post-prison-year-amid-us-crypto-policy-transformation\/\">served four months in federal prison<\/a> after pleading guilty to a compliance violation involving Binance. President Donald Trump subsequently pardoned him in October 2025.<\/p>\n<h2>Treasury Blows the Lid Off $5 Billion in Suspicious Activity<\/h2>\n<p>The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) assessed a $1.2 billion penalty after determining that Bank of America failed to adequately identify, investigate and report suspicious financial activity. More than $1 billion of the $5 billion in questionable transactions involved priority national security risks, including Chinese money-laundering networks and illicit financial activity along the southwestern U.S. border.<\/p>\n<p>The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) separately <a href=\"https:\/\/www.occ.gov\/news-issuances\/news-releases\/2026\/nr-occ-2026-89.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">imposed a record $750 million<\/a> penalty, credited toward FinCEN\u2019s assessment rather than added to it. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also secured an $11.6 million settlement involving 475 apparent sanctions violations tied to <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/featured\/iran-rial-record-low-bitcoin-mining-sanctions\/\">programs targeting Iran<\/a>, Russia, narcotics trafficking and terrorism.<\/p>\n<p>Regulators painted a particularly unflattering picture of the bank\u2019s internal controls. Treasury said Bank of America prioritized revenue while allowing compliance deficiencies to fester, and the OCC found that trillions of dollars in transactions had not been adequately monitored. The problems persisted despite a December 2024 cease-and-desist order demanding corrective action.<\/p>\n<h2>Lark Davis and Zerohedge Pile On<\/h2>\n<p>Cryptocurrency commentator Lark Davis also weighed in, taking aim at the bank\u2019s failure to timely report $5 billion in suspicious transactions and the comparatively modest hit to its earnings per share.<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/LarkDavis\/status\/2110128611801940170?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Davis capped his criticism<\/a> with the observation, \u201cand they tell you crypto is the bad guy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Financial commentary outlet Zerohedge likewise <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/zerohedge\/status\/2110144831934644336?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">zeroed in on the enforcement findings<\/a>, drawing attention to Chinese money-laundering networks and the billions in suspicious transactions identified by federal authorities. The revelations gave critics plenty of ammunition, particularly given the bank\u2019s admission of willful violations and the absence of criminal charges against individual executives.<\/p>\n<h2>Bank of America Foots the Bill, but Questions Linger<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/featured\/swifts-new-payment-framework-goes-live-at-bank-of-america-jpmorgan\/\">Bank of America<\/a> says it has already poured billions into compliance technology and assigned thousands of employees to financial crime prevention. The institution expects to absorb a $1.2 billion non-tax-deductible charge against third-quarter earnings, equivalent to approximately 17 cents per share.<\/p>\n<p>The settlement also requires an independent review of previously overlooked transactions, along with additional improvements to the bank\u2019s compliance machinery.<\/p>\n<p>For all the billion-dollar penalties, corrective orders and promises of reform, <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/opinion-and-analysis\/binance-founder-cz-says-bitcoin-could-overtake-gold-in-next-bull-run\/\">the former Binance boss<\/a>\u2018s Wednesday commentary landed on a rather conspicuous detail. Bank of America admitted to willful violations of federal banking law, but the announced resolutions left its executives without criminal charges. As the cynical argument goes, the quickest way to put a financial heavyweight behind bars isn\u2019t to break banking regulations, but to steal from the people who run the banks.<\/p>\n<div class=\"not-prose my-3 lg:my-4\">\n<div class=\"overflow-hidden rounded-lg !bg-[#E8EDFA] p-[9px] hidden md:flex md:flex-row md:gap-3 lg:hidden\"><a aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\" class=\"relative size-[150px] min-w-[150px] shrink-0 overflow-hidden rounded-[15px]\" href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/chainlink-expands-market-data-stellar-4b-tokenized-asset-ecosystem\/\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"absolute left-2 top-2\"><img alt=\"Bitcoin.com News\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"28\" height=\"28\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"size-7\" style=\"color:transparent\" srcset=\"\/_next\/image\/?url=%2Fimages%2Fuploads%2Fbitcoin_news_newlogo.svg&amp;w=32&amp;q=75 1x, \/_next\/image\/?url=%2Fimages%2Fuploads%2Fbitcoin_news_newlogo.svg&amp;w=64&amp;q=75 2x\" src=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/_next\/image\/?url=%2Fimages%2Fuploads%2Fbitcoin_news_newlogo.svg&amp;w=64&amp;q=75\"\/><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"overflow-hidden rounded-lg !bg-[#E8EDFA] p-[9px] hidden lg:flex lg:flex-row lg:gap-4\"><a aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\" class=\"relative size-[150px] min-w-[150px] shrink-0 overflow-hidden rounded-[15px]\" href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/chainlink-expands-market-data-stellar-4b-tokenized-asset-ecosystem\/\"><img alt=\"Chainlink Expands Market Data to Stellar\u2019s $4B Tokenized Asset Ecosystem\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"object-cover\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent\" sizes=\"150px\" srcset=\"\/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F08%2Fstellar_archax_partnership-150x150.jpg&amp;w=32&amp;q=75 32w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F08%2Fstellar_archax_partnership-150x150.jpg&amp;w=48&amp;q=75 48w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F08%2Fstellar_archax_partnership-150x150.jpg&amp;w=64&amp;q=75 64w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F08%2Fstellar_archax_partnership-150x150.jpg&amp;w=128&amp;q=75 128w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F08%2Fstellar_archax_partnership-150x150.jpg&amp;w=256&amp;q=75 256w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F08%2Fstellar_archax_partnership-150x150.jpg&amp;w=384&amp;q=75 384w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F08%2Fstellar_archax_partnership-150x150.jpg&amp;w=640&amp;q=75 640w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F08%2Fstellar_archax_partnership-150x150.jpg&amp;w=828&amp;q=75 828w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F08%2Fstellar_archax_partnership-150x150.jpg&amp;w=1080&amp;q=75 1080w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F08%2Fstellar_archax_partnership-150x150.jpg&amp;w=1200&amp;q=75 1200w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F08%2Fstellar_archax_partnership-150x150.jpg&amp;w=1920&amp;q=75 1920w\" src=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F08%2Fstellar_archax_partnership-150x150.jpg&amp;w=1920&amp;q=75\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"absolute left-2 top-2\"><img alt=\"Bitcoin.com News\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"28\" height=\"28\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"size-7\" style=\"color:transparent\" srcset=\"\/_next\/image\/?url=%2Fimages%2Fuploads%2Fbitcoin_news_newlogo.svg&amp;w=32&amp;q=75 1x, \/_next\/image\/?url=%2Fimages%2Fuploads%2Fbitcoin_news_newlogo.svg&amp;w=64&amp;q=75 2x\" src=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/_next\/image\/?url=%2Fimages%2Fuploads%2Fbitcoin_news_newlogo.svg&amp;w=64&amp;q=75\"\/><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"flex min-w-0 flex-1 flex-col justify-center gap-2\">\n<p class=\"m-0 line-clamp-2 text-base leading-[1.3] !text-[#67656E]\">Chainlink&#8217;s data infrastructure is now live on the Stellar blockchain, opening the door to new decentralized finance (DeFi) applications across\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/featured\/cz-takes-aim-at-bank-of-america-over-1-21-billion-aml-penalty\/\">Source link <\/a><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News ) Key Takeaways CZ roasted the absence of criminal charges following Bank of America\u2019s $1.21 billion penalty. The Treasury found Bank of America failed to timely report more than $5 billion in suspicious transactions. Bank of America must review missed transactions and strengthen its compliance controls. CZ Takes Swipe [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":79537,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79536"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79536"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79536\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}